Happy Halloween

The afternoon ladies got together today to continue work on our baby clothes and some little gifts for their moms too. Elaine continued to work on her baby hat and Barbara on her blanket.

 She doesn't have too much more to knit.

 Debbie finished a pair of baby mittens. It's good to see they don't have thumbs because those of us who have ever tried putting chubby little fingers into mittens or gloves know how hard it is to manage.

 Debbie worked on two at a time boot cuffs, using up some yarn scraps. Nothing goes to waste!

 I finished the little cardigan I worked on last week and added a cute little faux cabled hat to match. It's still a bit damp from it's blocking bath. All it needs now is a special button.

 

 My next project will be Dexter, a sweet little vest for a sweet little boy. 

 I was knitting without a row counter and I think I might have to frog a few rows. It looks like my ribbing is too deep.

But that's the great thing about knitting! Unlike sewing, when you've cut the fabric you're commited, knitting allows mistakes to be frogged out and redone.

Here's hoping everyone has a safe and spooky Halloween!

Baby clothes are fun to knit!

Elaine dove into her stash of UFO's and found this cute little kimono sweater which needs a method of closure. We tossed around a few ideas but she doesn't want to do any sewing so she's going to pick up stitches and make I-cords to tie it closed. Down in the lower right corner you can see the hat she's working on. Elaine was running short on the variegated yarn so she is adding stripes of solid pink here and there to extend the fabric so it will fit someone's head.

 Barbara's blanket is coming along nicely.

 Debbie started Freddie the Field Mouse using pink worsted weight yarn. Can't wait to see him finished.

 Dorah showed us her ChevRiot shawl she made using Periwinkle Sheep yarns. Those chevrons are offset so they travel the length of the shawl. 

 And she finished her Zoe hat tonight. I love it in pink!

 She found a baby pullover sweater which she started some months back and picked it back up again. Look at those cute little sheep stitch markers!

 Margaret's top down cardigan had one and a half sleeves when we finished tonight. It won't be long now and it will have a body too.

 

 The top down cardigan I'm making is ready to be split for the sleeves now. It shouldn't take too long to complete the body then I'll try to knit both sleeves at the same time on magic loop.

 Carole's top down sweater looked like this when we started tonight...

and like this when it was time to go home. Before you know it, it will have its sleeves and be ready for inventory. 

 I didn't have enough gray yarn to make a whole hat so I threw in some blue and was able to stretch it into an adult size hat.

 And after a thrilling game of yarn chicken, I finished an octopus toy. I held my breath when I neared the finish line, hoping all the while that there would be enough yarn to finish. That little ball is all that was left. 

Now I can breathe.

Busy knitting needles

Two more items went into inventory this week. This mischievous little kitty started out like a toe-up sock and with strategically placed decreases and increases suddenly became a cat. His eyes and nose are embroidered with sock yarn so there are no plastic pieces to choke little ones.

 And I finished off my circular blankie with a ruffle and reverse single crochet to give it a picot edge.

 Barbara worked on her baby blanket and we checked online for the translation of the label (the information was in Italian) and found out it is machine washable wool! WooHoo!

 Debbie worked on a top down sweet little dress.

 And Elaine's hat grew only a little because she had to frog back and start over.

 I decided to make another animal and found a pattern for a charming octopus. I read about these toys being given to preemies and for some reason they love them. Two legs done, six more to go.

 Carole's top-down pullover is now to the underarms so she can knit the whole thing in the round without stopping to make the button placket. It will go much faster now.

 Maureen's blanket is a few inches larger this week.

 And Margaret's top-down sweater is showing progress.

 We'll have to wait to see if it really takes only 5 hours to knit.

Last week my husband and I went to the New York Botanical Gardens to see the Chihuly exhibit before it ends on October 29. His work is stunning! This was my favorite in the collection.

 The pieces look like they could float away. Their grace and beauty mystify me.

 And they compliment the greenery so well.

 They look so natural among the growing plants.

 And add to the tranquility of the place.

 At the end of the day I stopped in at the gift shop just to look around and noticed I could have brought home a souvenir of my day, if it hadn't been for the $8,100 price tag!!!

I'll just take the photo and admire that! Have a great week and keep those needles clicking!

It still feels like summer

It's been so unseasonably warm around here lately that it seems weird to be knitting winter clothes but eventually it will get cold and then we'll be complaining about snow. But we will have warm things to donate to those who need them. 

Dorah's Zoe hat is a little bit longer this week. I just love the stitch definition on this pattern.

 Last week Carole's yarn did not want to cooperate with her pattern so she ripped it out and started this cute little pullover and the yarn is much happier.

 Maureen is back after a bit of a hiatus. She's working on a baby blanket with a nice washable acrylic yarn. 

 Margaret's hands were busily knitting away on this baby hat.

 She started the stripes tonight.

 My round blanket, on which I have begun a ruffled edge, has so many stitches I don't dare count them for fear of going into shock!

Maureen and Margaret brought their hats to add to the inventory. Maureen's is the green cabled and the blue is Margaret's Barley Hat.

 Since the blanket was taking so long to finish I threw in a quick bunny project. I think I like knitting little toys and just might make a few more.

The afternoon Chicks had conflicts today but they'll be back next week. In the meantime, 

Keep those needles clicking!

Indian Summer

We have been experiencing the most beautiful Indian Summer weather here in the Capital District of New York. Sunday I decided to summon up the courage to go to the Walkway Over the Hudson which spans the river to connect Highland, NY to Poughkeepsie, NY. Looking north you can see the Catskill Mountains in the distance.

 To say I'm not a fan of heights would be a gross understatement but I reminded myself that trains used to travel over the span and it's not very narrow. So I put on my big girl panties and Ron and I thoroughly enjoyed our day trip. Behind him is the Mid Hudson Bridge looking south.

 We even rode the glass elevator to the park below on the Poughkeepsie riverfront.

 Just past the walkway is a children's museum and park.

 It was nice to see people using the park in view from the walkway. What a great way to get some exercise while enjoying the day.

 And the weather continued to be gorgeous today too. The afternoon ladies and I sat outside to knit. Elaine worked on her tweed cap and by 3PM it was finished.

Liz worked a bit on a fuzzy blanket for a friend's daughter who needed a security blanket.

The yarn is a soft, fuzzy fiber and will be so cuddly for a little one.

She also worked on her Barley hat. Whenever we use stripes it usually means we are afraid we're going to run out of yarn and need to extend for size.

Debbie started a pair of children mittens on four needles.

She's using a superwash merino so they'll be soft and warm.

Debbie added a sweet pair of booties to the inventory too.

My needles are busy making a circular baby blanket with Berroco Vintage in chunky weight. The pattern is based on a circular shawl which has me placing a YO at strategic points on the knit row and then purling straight through the next row.

Carole showed us a scarf she's knitting for her friend using Periwinkle Sheep yarn. The pattern is called Fuss Free Festival Shawl. She worked all evening on a top down baby sweater only to realize that the yarn didn't want to be this particular sweater. So she's going to frog it and work a different pattern for next week.

I forgot to take an updated photo of Dorah's Zoe hat but she added another couple of inches to what I showed you last week.

I hope you're enjoying the wonderful autumn weather. You might even get to knit outdoors before the snow falls.